In-hand photos of 2023 TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus, Stealth 2, Stealth 2 HD drivers + fairways woods

[GolfWRX]

Check out our front page launch stories here and here. 

 

What you need to know: For the first time, carbon is the most prevalent material by volume in a TaylorMade driver, and more carbon equals better performance, says the company. Last year, TaylorMade debuted a 60X Carbon Twist Face. With TaylorMade Stealth 2, engineers are bringing carbon to more of the golf club — and unveiling a new-and-improved Carbon Twist Face in the process. Stealth 2 Plus (low spin, most workable) Stealth 2, and Stealth 2 HD (draw bias, high launch, most forgiving) drivers make up the Stealth 2 family.

 

Stealth 2 

 

Stealth 2 Plus

 

Stealth 2 HD

 

What you need to know: Breakthrough movable weight technologies and versatile designs are the hallmarks of the 2023 TaylorMade Stealth 2 fairway woods. Stealth 2 Plus is branded as “three fairway woods in one” owing to the unique performance characteristics afforded by the 50-gram sole weight. Stealth 2 features a slightly lower profile 3D carbon crown than Stealth. This moves CG down and away from the toe with more weight in the rear of the club for higher launch and MOI. Ultra-high MOI Stealth 2 HD features an oversized 200cc head and low-profile sole, creating an easy-to-hit, draw-biased club.

 

Stealth 2 fairway

 

Stealth 2 Plus fairway

 

 

 

Edited January 10 by GolfWRX

[DE-ILLINI]

The Stealth 2 fairway wood has me interested.  Seems like 2023 will be a good year for fairway woods.

[AlohaPineapple]

wow that Stealth 2+ looks great at address, love the glossy top and lack of red stripe around the back

[easyyy]

great pics.

 

I have had time with the new Stealth 2 driver heads. Played 4 times with the S2+ and S regular. Tested a lot on trackman against the OG Stealth and OG SIM as well.

 

Tested well. As good as SIM and Stealth for spin and distance. I wouldn't say any better for distance but accuracy averages were better than the OG Stealth. In testing the good news for me was seeing the spin of the regular Stealth 2 lower and not as high spin as the "regular" original Stealth. 

 

As for distance... I tweaked the weights on the standard Stealth 2 and added more weight to the back. Felt VERY VERY stable and this gave me confidence to swing harder. That had to make this longer than prior TM drivers for me. The OG Stealth was long but IMO was temperamental and made me unsure. S2 is a different vibe. Winner for me.

 

Over all thumbs up. Better than the Stealth (not sure if it was clearly better than SIM but as good) for me. The original Stealth was too temperamental on mis hits IMO.

 

I love the shape and the high gloss black is really good. Sound is perfect... I mean perfect. Not as muted as the OG Stealth. Looks are getting a really good response from scratch guys and the mid handicappers. I think the high gloss is a better looking change and black seems to be attractive. 

 

I was not hitting the + as good on the course (missing fairways) as I did in testing or at the range. Confidence. That day I had the length at 45.5" and went back to 45" the next day with the standard Stealth and that 1/2" seemed to be significant. More testing on the + needs to happen.

 

However I changed to the non + and boom. OG SIM is out of the bag. I will stick with it for a while and see how they both do long term. Love this head. I was only getting a few hundred rpm's more spin (2,300ish) in the standard and that made this head more complient in play.

 

In summary... the sound is perfect, looks are better and they seem much more compliant without giving up yards. That is a good thing. 

 

Early days and that is me being honest. 

 

As for the fairways... yum. I cant wait to work with these. Someone above said it... this is the year of the fairways. 

[getitdaily]

That fwy sliding weight is HUGE. I plan to wear a mark on the face of the demo head as much as I'll tinker in just 1 demo session. 

[GHIN n Juice]

Fairway has me interested with the sliding weight as last years Stealth fairway was awesome.  
 

The driver appears to be, eh.  I’m not seeing $600+ worth of a reason to switch things up.

[radiman]

34 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

That fwy sliding weight is HUGE. I plan to wear a mark on the face of the demo head as much as I'll tinker in just 1 demo session. 

Man, I am still fighting the urge to just pre order it.  I mean, look at all of that adjustability.  I SHOULD be able to dial it in.

[getitdaily]

1 minute ago, radiman said:

Man, I am still fighting the urge to just pre order it.  I mean, look at all of that adjustability.  I SHOULD be able to dial it in.

"Just do that pilot 5h!t mav"...

[radiman]

44 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

That fwy sliding weight is HUGE. I plan to wear a mark on the face of the demo head as much as I'll tinker in just 1 demo session. 

Now, my mind is kind of running through an imaginary tinkering session on this fairway haha.  Wonder if we'll see some heavier weights through billy bobs or the like.  I tend to like a little more weight added to my woods anyways.  I wonder if the weight is evenly distributed across the length of the metal.  Or, if it can be made to be lopsided to push the adjustments to an extreme.  

[geesecougar2]

No adjustable hosel on the Stealth fairway means likely none on the Stealth hybrid, wah

[Esco9]

From looks and lie angle if it’s truly that much flatter like reported this is a home run for some of us. 

[Troy_McClure]

Spent some time with it both on course and on GC Quad. Same shaft set up as OG Stealth.

 

Dispersion better, ball speed same and total distance same as OG Stealth. 

For me, OG Sim is still the longest and it's not close but when go after it and miss it, it ends up on a different course. 

 

TSR2 safe. For now. 

[Valtiel]

@radiman You're likely the only one that will appreciate how close we were on our modular weight guesses 😂

Looking very interesting, i'll want to see how the club sits on the ground but otherwise i'll definitely be giving it a spin. 

[gr8blueheronbird]

4 hours ago, easyyy said:

great pics.

 

I have had time with the new Stealth 2 driver heads. Played 4 times with the S2+ and S regular. Tested a lot on trackman against the OG Stealth and OG SIM as well.

 

Tested well. As good as SIM and Stealth for spin and distance. I wouldn't say any better for distance but accuracy averages were better than the OG Stealth. In testing the good news for me was seeing the spin of the regular Stealth 2 lower and not as high spin as the "regular" original Stealth. 

 

As for distance... I tweaked the weights on the standard Stealth 2 and added more weight to the back. Felt VERY VERY stable and this gave me confidence to swing harder. That had to make this longer than prior TM drivers for me. The OG Stealth was long but IMO was temperamental and made me unsure. S2 is a different vibe. Winner for me.

 

Over all thumbs up. Better than the Stealth (not sure if it was clearly better than SIM but as good) for me. The original Stealth was too temperamental on mis hits IMO.

 

I love the shape and the high gloss black is really good. Sound is perfect... I mean perfect. Not as muted as the OG Stealth. Looks are getting a really good response from scratch guys and the mid handicappers. I think the high gloss is a better looking change and black seems to be attractive. 

 

I was not hitting the + as good on the course (missing fairways) as I did in testing or at the range. Confidence. That day I had the length at 45.5" and went back to 45" the next day with the standard Stealth and that 1/2" seemed to be significant. More testing on the + needs to happen.

 

However I changed to the non + and boom. OG SIM is out of the bag. I will stick with it for a while and see how they both do long term. Love this head. I was only getting a few hundred rpm's more spin (2,300ish) in the standard and that made this head more complient in play.

 

In summary... the sound is perfect, looks are better and they seem much more compliant without giving up yards. That is a good thing. 

 

Early days and that is me being honest. 

 

As for the fairways... yum. I cant wait to work with these. Someone above said it... this is the year of the fairways. 

Richard,

Are you able to measure the face height from sole to crown in the middle of face on the Stealth2 Driver? If so, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you

[Mp14forlife]

I play the og sim max and love that color scheme. But the stealth just looks tacky/gimmicky with it's color schemes, kinda like a discount brand. However, I am interested in that adjustable weight fairway wood tho. 

[jetmech879]

Now I love me some Taylormade but am I the only one thinking how bad that weight design is on the fairway? That is going to be a dirt collector from H E double hockey sticks!!🤣

[btyh]

From the txg testing I was very surprised how metallic the sound was with all the carbon. Other than that Matty had consistent ball speeds throughout the face

[QuigleyDU]

Looking forward to trying this. This driver is pretty clean. Seems like the perfect next step in evolution.

[gticlay]

11 hours ago, Esco9 said:

From looks and lie angle if it’s truly that much flatter like reported this is a home run for some of us. 

If you mean the drivers, I remember a slide that said 56/58/60 for lie angle.

*just checked the website and this looks correct.

Edited January 11 by gticlay

[Genericgolf]

Stealth 2 plus head is good have had it a month different feel from last year. 

[Howie]

21 hours ago, Esco9 said:

From looks and lie angle if it’s truly that much flatter like reported this is a home run for some of us. 

 

Hoping that to be the case with the FW woods. Many of us need flatter FW woods!

[Ben Berube]

On 1/10/2023 at 9:44 AM, AlohaPineapple said:

wow that Stealth 2+ looks great at address, love the glossy top and lack of red stripe around the back

They look closed face to me. Not a fan. But who knows in real life. 

[Bskib]

Are the stock shafts of the woods legit from the likes of MCA and Project X or are they the watered down version?  Looking to pre order the Stealth 2+ 3 wood with a Kaili Red. But only if it’s a legit Mitsubishi shaft. Want to live that adjustability life! My TSR3 3 wood is getting VERY nervous!

[Wardonation]

6 minutes ago, Bskib said:

Are the stock shafts of the woods legit from the likes of MCA and Project X or are they the watered down version?  Looking to pre order the Stealth 2+ 3 wood with a Kaili Red. But only if it’s a legit Mitsubishi shaft. Want to live that adjustability life! My TSR3 3 wood is getting VERY nervous!

Only the "TX" versions of Kai'li are legit. If they offer the "TX" then yes if not then no.

[ignitewvu]

8 minutes ago, Bskib said:

Are the stock shafts of the woods legit from the likes of MCA and Project X or are they the watered down version?  Looking to pre order the Stealth 2+ 3 wood with a Kaili Red. But only if it’s a legit Mitsubishi shaft. Want to live that adjustability life! My TSR3 3 wood is getting VERY nervous!

 

Yes their Kai Li's & PX Gen 4's are the same as if you would buy them from a vendor.

[Bskib]

3 minutes ago, ignitewvu said:

 

Yes their Kai Li's & PX Gen 4's are the same as if you would buy them from a vendor.

I am chatting with a rep on the taylormade website and he stated it’s a version of a Kaili specifically for the stealth and isn’t the aftermarket version…Their version of the ventus tr red looked interesting. Looks like they had flip flopped the color scheme and the black was on mid to tip section and the red was at the butt section. 

Edited January 14 by Bskib

[ignitewvu]

1 minute ago, Bskib said:

Outstanding! Their version of the ventus tr red looked interesting. Looks like they had flip flopped the color scheme and the black was on mid to tip section and the red was at the butt section. 

 

The TR Red they are giving at no upcharge is "NOT" a version wit Velocore unfortunately.  So that one is a "Made for shaft".

Edited January 14 by ignitewvu

[Bskib]

1 minute ago, ignitewvu said:

 

The TR Red they are giving at no upcharge is "NOT" a version wit Velocore unfortunately.  So that one is a "Made for shaft".

Turns out none of their stock offerings are the aftermarket versions.  Looks like I have another $700.00 plus 3 wood in bound. Happy and sad at the same time.

[ignitewvu]

12 minutes ago, Bskib said:

Turns out none of their stock offerings are the aftermarket versions.  Looks like I have another $700.00 plus 3 wood in bound. Happy and sad at the same time.

 

That is not totally correct.....Many are the same shafts at no upcharge some are "made for".  You have to look through the custom lineup on the custom shaft list.

 

The Kai Li Whites & Blues all can be had at no upcharge & they are legit.  The Red models that come stock are iffy at best.

The Hzrdus models are all legit.

To get a real ventus of course there is a upcharge.

Edited January 14 by ignitewvu

[Bskib]

4 minutes ago, ignitewvu said:

 

That is not totally correct.....Many are the same shafts at no upcharge some are "made for".  You have to look through the custom lineup on the custom shaft list.

 

The Kai Li Whites & Blues all can be had at no upcharge & they are legit.  The Red models that come stock are iffy at best.

The Hzrdus models are all legit.

To get a real ventus of course there is a upcharge.

I will probably wait until Peoples Clubs has the Stealth 2 lineup available for preorder and just knock out the order all at once. The work of him and his team is stellar.  I see a stealth 2+ 3 wood with a Ventus TR Red or Blue in my future. 
 

Appreciate the feedback regarding the stock vs up charge offerings!